Lastwerte

Lastwerte is a German term used in several technical contexts to denote either the most recently recorded values in a data series or the instantaneous loads in engineering applications. The word derives from Last (load, burden) and Wert (value). In statistics and data analysis, a lastwert is the latest observation in a time series, often used for updating dashboards, imputing missing data, or initiating calculations that depend on the current state. The plural Lastwerte may refer to the set of such latest observations from multiple series.

In electrical engineering and energy management, Lastwerte describe the instantaneous load values on a network at a given moment. These values are used in load-flow calculations, capacity planning, demand forecasting, and stability analyses. They are typically obtained from metering data or aggregated from sub-loads and may be reported at intervals ranging from seconds to hours.

The term is not unique to one discipline; its exact meaning depends on context. In software development and data science, functions or routines that retrieve the last value of a collection are often described as returning a last value or lastwert, aligning with the general sense of the word. See also: last observation, latest value, time series, load value.